An Impromptu Intervention
by glitteringhavoc
Summary: Shin lives life hiding behind a forced smile. After all, it doesn't seem to him as if anyone will ever notice the downward spiral he's slowly succumbing to. He is, in fact, so sure that those around him are completely blind to his plight that he is entirely unprepared to have his mask ripped clean off. (angst; non-explicit references to: self harm, abuse, prostitution/escorting)


"Shin," Hatchi asked slowly, staring at a bright purple, green, and yellow marble splotch right on the boy's left wrist. "How did you get those bruises?" They were all a little drunk now, having been playing drinking games for the better part of the night. Still, despite the level of intoxication, Hatchi was the only one brave enough to pose the question everyone had been wondering since before the first cork had popped. Realistically, this probably had something to do with the fact that Hatchi was also the most prone to meddling out of all of them. Well, and the fact that Hatchi was the most easily worried.

Shin, calm, goofy, pessimistic, grim, wise, lovable, Shin had bruises all over his body. There were actually a few deep-looking cuts as well. He was wearing a tight sleeveless top with a low v-neck cut, exposing a fair amount of his chest. His heavily chained pants only went down to his knees and even his calves were battered-looking. The currently turquoise-haired boy just looked down into his drink, taking a few slight swigs, refusing to meet anyone's eyes as if he was seeing something no one else could in that damnable way he had.

Finally, after what seemed an eon, Shin plastered on the childlike smile he donned when fooling the rest of the world and grinned over at Hatchi. "Don't worry Hatch-chan. I just got supremely drunk a few nights ago and fell a couple of times."

To everyone's surprise, it was Nana who responded with a succinct yet still rife with contempt: "Bullshit." Nobu looked uncomfortable. Yasu seemed to have frozen when Hatchi first asked the question. Hatchi herself had a hand over her mouth and looked like she was close to tears. Shin's eyes widened marginally before his face went cold. If any of the group had bedded Shin, they would have recognized this as a warning sign that he was near to just up and leaving a situation he didn't care to deal with.

"What would you like me to say, Nana?" His voice dripped icicles and his piercing orbs shot darts. "The truth? You want to upset Hatchi with that? You don't want the truth. You want the reality to somehow change or be different."

Nana didn't even look at him as she rose to open a new bottle of wine. She didn't respond.

"It isn't just Hatchi who is upset by it," Yasu said. "She's just perhaps the only one naive enough to hope that her conclusions could be false. Don't think for a moment Shin, that you've fooled any of us."

"Yeah!" Nobu broke in. "We're not you're anonymous benefactors or something, Shin. We're your friends. Of course we're not fooled."

"And friends corner their other friends and ride a high horse while all the time bemoaning something they can't understand with accusatory tones?" Shin rose, grabbing his bag and pack of cigs before Hatchi's comforting hand could quite reach his leg.

Before anyone else could move, or in actuality even really absorb what was happening, Shin was already opening the door to Nana & Hatchi's flat with the swiftness borne of a deep-suffering annoyance. Everything happened so quickly though, that it was rather impressive no one got hurt in the exchange. Yasu rose, reached the door in a few long strides, grabbed on to Shin's upper arm and forcibly yanked him back away from the threshold. Shin tried to struggle but Yasu shoved him against the door, slamming it shut. Their bodies were so close that they probably could taste each others' breath.

"Whether you like it or not, Shin, we care. This has gone on long enough. You are going to talk about it and you are going to be honest. You are not going to run away from genuine concern and affection any longer. I have personally wallowed in complacency in regards to your lack of parental authority but when you are so clearly causing yourself serious harm, I cannot in good conscious stand by any longer. Your father entrusted your well-being to me, and even if that wretched excuse for a father isn't worthy of the title and only cared about his reputation, I will do as I promised. None of us are going to abandon you, despite what you've come to expect in your short life. We, as a group of people who _love_ you, cannot just stand by and allow you to continue on with this slow suicide."

No one moved. Even the wind outside seemed to have quieted. Shin's face was slack, shock having replaced the previous bratty fury. Without warning, the boy's legs seemed to give out. If it hadn't been for Yasu quickly helping to ease Shin down to the floor, he might have just tipped forwards. Shin simply sat there, seemingly unable to move.

"Shin?" Nobu asked quietly. No response. "Shin," he tried again. "Say something."

Shin looked up, eyes bright with an unnamed emotion. When he finally spoke, his voice was choked. Did Shin ever cry?

"I-," he gulped. "I'm sorry.

Yasu put a heavy hand on one of Shin's slumped shoulders, probably in an attempt to ground the clearly floundering boy. Yasu's voice was devoid of its previous determined tones. "Will you talk to us now Shin? Will you allow us to help you?"

Shin didn't say anything. Just nodded slowly, as if moving through sand. Just as slowly, Yasu gently wrapped his arms around Shin's torso and pulled the boy to his feet. It was probably a good thing that the boy didn't seem to weigh a whole heck of a lot. Shin's expression didn't change any as he was tenderly steered back towards the table. Before he was fully sat down, Hatchi had practically run to the stove and was busy making tea.

"I think we've had quite enough alcohol already, if we're going to have this conversation." Was the simple explanation she gave as she plucked the just-opened wine bottle out of Nana's hands.

Without a word, Nana began to help Hatchi with the tea and Yasu gently eased Shin down to sit beside Nobu. Without needing to be told, Nobu immediately put on arm around his roommate's frail shoulders, gently leaning Shin back until he was safely nestled against Nobu's chest with a comforting arm hugging his middle. You could tell the young bassist was still in a state of relative shock after the turn of events he had no doubt assumed to avoid for the foreseeable future began to play out before him. His eyes were still wide, and quite wet looking. He didn't even try to shrug out of Nobu's embrace. When Hatchi attempted to hand him his cup of tea, his hands shook so much that for a second it looked as if he would drop the mug. Hatchi demurely kneeled in front of the boy, wrapping her hands around his until Shin could stop trembling. The warmth and scent of the tea's vapor seemed to help calm BLAST's youngest member, and slowly but surely he seemed to become more like himself again. After a few sips Hatchi was able to relinquish her hold of the cup entirely without fear of it sloshing out everywhere.

After everyone had settled down, Hatchi next to Nobu and Shin on one side of the table, with Yasu and Nana on the other side facing them. No one said anything to pressure Shin, but they looked at him patiently, waiting for him to be ready.

"I don't know where to start," he said quietly. If it had been anyone else, the boy's tone might even have been categorized as ashamed or scared but this was Shin! The kid unabashedly spoke his mind with little to no fear of the consequences. He regularly created elaborate scenes inspired by his own sexcapades just to recite to Nobu and watch the boy blush a bright Play-Doh red. He was so self-assured and confident within his own identity, especially for someone so young, that it was genuinely a marvel. Truth be told, Yasu, being understandably the most mature of the group, often queried that Shin's facade of confidence was only in place so that his "anonymous donors" never saw the pain and humiliation being bought caused him. Better to seem cocky than frightened or inexperienced. After all, with the jobs Shin was doing, neither frightened nor inexperienced was going to pay the bills.

"How about you just start from the place that feels most comfortable? Maybe how you acquired those bruises?" Yasu replied calmly and serenely.


End file.
